Outdoor Blind Installation

[seriph1]

sorry to rain on your parade folks, but I believe potential litigation could be the exact reason they don't fit the tie downs in the first place.

example: company I know of sells a wall mounted cupboard, but do not and will not supply mounting screws. According to them, they can’t cater for the myriad of conditions the cupboard may be fixed to, therefore do NOT give any mounting screws as they may be used incorrectly.

If they did supply screws, which ones should they supply?

If the owner uses the wrong ones, as supplied?.... The company gets sued because buyer assumed the supplied screws were for all wall types - of course he screwed it into mortar because it was easier than the masonry and when he put the 50 kilo tellie on the cupboard it fell off...... and so on.


In the end I believe it would be better to get advice from folks around here and use your noodle to work out what's best - litigation means someone/thing was hurt or damaged – this a bad ..... threat of litigation may be seen as a further reason to NOT help, as any advice given and not followed perfectly could be seen as the advisor’s fault for not being clear enough etc etc.

Which brings us full circle - the guys should’ve fitted the suckers themselves and done so in a fit manner

Calling the firm and requesting they return and complete the job is probably the best thing to do - and escalate the call until satisfied...... Personally, I would’ve thought they’d simply adopt the principle when fitting the blinds: "you win on some you lose on some"

On straightforward they walk away knowing all is well and pocket a few extra bikkies..... if there's a more difficult fixing situation, it just gets handled and the added brains-pace and time required means they have spent a wee bit more though ensured their reputation remains first class

man what a sermon! Ok, I am off to machine something - CYA

[journeyman Mick]

Steve,
they supplied screws and (verbal) instructions to fix the plates to the pavers. If Lefty does so and there is an accident due to the failure of this method of attachment they would be liable. My suggestion was simply that this was used as leverage to get them to rectify/complete the installation. If you end up in court the only people that win are the lawyers, I certainly wouldn't suggest going down that track! From previous experiences I've found that polite but firm requests, with an ace up the sleeve will generally get a satisfactory outcome. My preferred ace up the sleeve is withheld payment. At very least try to pay for stuff witha credit card as the CC company will often do a lot to help.

Mick

[LineLefty]

just thinking further - OUCH - perhaps you wanna create a female fixing point so tiny feet....and big ones.... dont slice themselves open or trip on any protruding tiedown?

or am I so far off the mark as to be ridiculous?

OK,

Once again thanks all for the discussion. I didn't really want to contact the company and wait for them to come out again....I just did it myself.

This is what I did.

The bracket (which is female) was set in concrete at the same level as the top of the pavers. Rather than screws I got ome 1500m counter sunk bolts and secured then to the plat with nuts. Then at the bottom of the bolts I secured some 2cm wide 3mil steel plates that I'd drilled to receive both screws. This was done twice for each bracket which has 4 bolt-holes.

It's all been connected and seems pretty strong. Although I'm concerened that the galv 3mm steel will rust to nothing.

[GCP310]

Probably too late to comment, But I have just installed the exact thing at home using the clear blinds that bunnings are selling. unfortunately they dont sell nor suggest a method of tiedown, so i ended up at my local marine shop and purchased 8 stainless D handles that finish flush when not being used. i also picked up some stainless fixings from them ast they were so much cheaper than bunnings.

i ended up cutting a rebate into the concrete using a diamond blade on my angle grinder ,then fixed the handle into the concrete with red plugs and the stainless screws. I made sure that i used stainless on everything as i wanted it to last not to mention the nice professional finshed look it gives.

i will post a photo later tonight for others who are looking at fitting these blinds

G

[mic-d]

after you have set the pavers on a concrete base drill right thru them and use ramset ankascrews. They are the screws with a hex head and a widely spaced helical thread. They have massive holding power and you don't need to worry about epoxy, plugs etc and are prettier than dynabolts...

Cheers
Michael

[GCP310]

heres what i used. Pretty neat finish IMHO.

G

[Iain]

Another secure form of bolt is the excalibur, it's a double threaded self tapping device for masonry.
I have used them in several application including a carport I built and found them to be exceptional.
They come in several lengths and diameters and are available from Bunnies, they are not cheap but they work very well.
As a bonus they can also be removed and screwed back in using the thread they have cut for themselves.
As an aside on the legal aspect and ratings of products, I have installed four wall mounted TV brackets at home, they come with mounting hardware, wallplugs and screws which they claim will support 30kg.
Given that these plugs are for plasterboard my question is will the wall support 30kg.
I used techscrews directly into studs.